Twenty gold medals were awarded in the time trial on day four of the UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. The home crowd had reason to celebrate with two gold medals on a memorable day.
Céline van Till rode a masterful race to win the Women’s T2 time trial and retain the title she won in Glasgow, Scotland (Great Britain) last year. In a strong field, the 33-year-old from Geneva won the 11.3km event in 18:34.30. Denmark’s Emma Lund took silver and Germany’s Angelika Dreock-Käser took bronze.
“I’m very happy to defend my world title in front of my home crowd,” said Van Till. “My family and friends were there, and I’m happy to share this moment with them. I didn’t feel any pressure. I just wanted to do the best race possible.”
On her race tactics, she said: “I knew the rider who pushed the most watts would win because the course is not too technical. So I focused on going as fast as possible. There was a headwind in the first half of the race, so I knew I could make the difference. I heard the radio with 5km to go and they told me it was now or never. Suffer and push as hard as you can. Winning a Championship on home soil is very special.”
Van Till’s victory came shortly after winning silver medals in the T1-2 time trial and road race at the Paralympic Games. It is another great chapter in his sporting history, following his previous experiences in dressage and, after a serious riding accident, in para-athletics.
The host nation also enjoyed success in the Women’s C2 individual time trial, with Switzerland’s Flurina Rigling claiming the first UCI World Time Trial title of her illustrious career. Rigling, who recently turned 28, took gold over the 18.8km course in a time of 26:45.60. Great Britain’s Daphne Schrager took silver, 23 seconds behind, and her compatriot Amelia Cass took bronze.
“I am very emotional to have won my first world time trial title,” Rigling said at the finish line. “Winning at home is really special after a long season where I raced all over the world. I just came back from Paris where I missed the podium [du contre-la-montre] for just three tenths of a second.”
Asked about the major challenge of racing so soon after Paris, where Rigling won silver in the Women’s C1-3 road race and bronze in the individual pursuit (track) of the same sport class, she said: “It was hard to know where my limits were, and I didn’t know my form after Paris. It was hard to know if I could push until the end.”
It is Rigling’s seventh medal at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships and his second gold after winning the road race in Glasgow last year.
In addition, Spaniard Ricardo Ten Argiles won the fourth rainbow time trial jersey of his career in the Men’s C1 category. The 49-year-old, who won gold in this specialty in Paris, finished in 25’25″48, just over 16 seconds ahead of Poland’s Zbigniew Maciejewski. Dutchman Andre Wijnhoud took the bronze medal.
“It’s great to win gold,” said Ten Argiles. “It was hard to focus after the Paralympics, but I did my best. It’s great to share the UCI World Championships with able-bodied athletes. I hope we show the world how strong we are.”
A special mention must be made of the tireless Austrian Thomas Frühwirth, who won the Men’s H4 individual time trial, beating the Swiss athlete Fabian Recher by almost a minute.
“For me, the real pleasure is being on the field,” said a delighted Frühwirth. “I really enjoy competing. It’s an amazing feeling. I think I’ve won 10 medals at the UCI World Championships, but this is my first gold.”
The time trials of the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships are now over. Tomorrow, the para-cycling road races will begin.
Full results
Paracycling Sports Divisions
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C – Cycles: conventional bicycles with adaptations if necessary
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T – Tricycle: three-wheeled bicycle
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B – Tandem: athletes with visual impairment and pilot
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H – Handcycle
Divisions C (1-5), T (1-2) and H (1-5) are divided into different sport classes, with the lower number indicating a higher impairment.
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